The first day of legal tampering season of free agency has come and gone. I say “legal tampering” because all of the deals that were announced today cannot become official until Wednesday at 4 p.m. After an action packed day who where my winners and losers of the first day of free agency.
Winners:
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles pulled off the impossible today. Not only did they find a team that was dumb enough to take on Byron Maxwell’s contract but they also were able to find a taker for DeMarco Murray’s deal on the same day! The funniest part was general manager Howie Roseman dealt three players Chip Kelly acquired just a year ago which sort of dig to Kelly in a way. The more significant portion of this was the team did not have to eat any additional money on the contracts outside of the signing bonus. Getting rid of those contracts was a win by itself but Philadelphia also acquired some draft picks that will be announced when the deals become official. The Eagles don’t figure to be very good this year but they took some steps in the right direction by making additions by subtractions.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers didn’t make a major move but it was a smart one to say the least. Re-signing Darrius Heyward-Bey to a 3 year, $3.8 million deal was cheap and provided quality depth. Heyward-Bey took a hometown discount to stay and had more lucrative offers elsewhere, an overall win for the Steelers.
Losers:
Baltimore Ravens
What in the world was Baltimore thinking today? First they gave 16 million to Shareece Wright who was released by San Diego early in the 2015 season for horrific performances. Although he played well late for Baltimore their season was over and didn’t mean anything in terms of late game pressures. Then they gave a Long Snapper Morgan Cox a 5-year deal. Sure Cox is one of the better long snappers in football but neither deal made much sense considering the team has very little cap space. These moves completely took the team out of the market to re-sign all pro guard Kelechi Osemele. It remains to be seen what GM Ozzie Newsome is planning next.
Miami Dolphins
It’s actually quite entertaining to watch the Dolphins completely mismanage their team every offseason. The Dolphins, a team with little cap space, decided to trade for Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell. Both players drastically under performed in Philadelphia a year ago. Im not questioning whether both players can rebound, I’m questioning their use of their cap space. Why give up draft picks for overpaid players? Miami also released Brent Grimes and brought Mario Williams in for an overnight visit.
Indianapolis Colts
Did you know Dywane Allen will make more money than Rob Gronkowksi next season? A four-year, $30 million deal for Allen makes no sense. When you factor in that he only had 16 catches in the entire 2015 season it really makes you wonder what Ryan Grigson was thinking. This move also likely means Colby Fleener is headed elsewhere as the Colts don’t have that much cap space to work with.
*Joe Barksdale contract details have not been announced
*Athyba Rubin contract details have not been announced
